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The Bends [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]

Radiohead - The Bends [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD] Audio CD

A fair review of the Radiohead "The Bends [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Radiohead reviews here, or go back to the Radiohead tabs.

Band: Radiohead
Title: The Bends [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-03-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Planet Telex 2: The Bends 3: High And Dry 4: Fake Plastic Trees 5: Bones 6: (Nice Dream) 7: Just 8: My Iron Lung 9: Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was 10: Black Star 11: Sulk 12: Street Spirit (Fade Out) 13: The Trickster [My Iron Lung] 14: Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong [My Iron Lung] 15: Lozenge Of Love [My Iron Lung] 16: Lewis (Mistreated) [My Iron Lung] 17: Permanent Daylight [My Iron Lung] 18: You Never Wash Up After Yourself [My Iron Lung] 19: Maquiladora [High And Dry/Planet Telex] 20: Killer Cars [High And Dry/Planet Telex] 21: India Rubber [Fake Plastic Trees] 22: How Can You Be Sure? [Fake Plastic Trees] 23: Talk Show Host [Street Spirit (Fade Out)] 24: Bishop's Robes [Street Spirit (Fade Out)] 25: Banana Co. [Street Spirit (Fade Out)] 26: Molasses [Street Spirit (Fade Out)] 27: Just [BBC Radio One Session (04/14/94)] 28: Maquiladora [BBC Radio One Session (04/14/94)] 29: Street Spirit (Fade Out) [BBC Radio One Session (04/14/94)] 30: Bones [BBC Radio One Session (04/14/94)] 31: High And Dry (UK Version) [Promo Video] 32: High And Dry (US Version) [Promo Video] 33: Fake Plastic Trees [Promo Video] 34: Just [Promo Video] 35: Street Spirit (Fade Out) [Promo Video] 36: Bones [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 37: Black Star [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 38: The Bends [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 39: My Iron Lung [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 40: Maquiladora [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 41: Fake Plastic Trees [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 42: Just [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 43: Street Spirit (Fade Out) [The Astoria, London Live (5/27/94)] 44: My Iron Lung [2 Meter Session, Holland (02/27/95)] 45: High And Dry [2 Meter Session, Holland (02/27/95)] 46: Fake Plastic Trees [2 Meter Session, Holland (02/27/95)] 47: Street Spirit (Fade Out) [2 Meter Session, Holland (02/27/95)] 48: The Bends [Later With Jools Holland (05/27/95)] 49: High And Dry [Later With Jools Holland (05/27/95)] 50: High And Dry (03/09/95) [Top Of The Pops] 51: Fake Plastic Trees (06/01/95) [Top Of The Pops] 52: Street Spirit (Fade Out) (02/01/96) [Top Of The Pops]

Almost as good as OK Computer, which is saying a lot!
Even though it is annoying how the record companies keep making us re-buy stuff we already have the bonus material on all 3 of the new Radiohead reissues makes it well worth the purchase.

Radiohead's Breakthrough
I purchased it immediately. Some time in 1995, I walked into a music store and heard The Bends, Radiohead's second album, on the store's sound system. The album was a huge breakthrough for Radiohead and it was, in this reviewer's opinion, along with the band's third album, OK Computer, one of the two best albums of the 1990s.

As most of those considering this box set already know, the music on The Bends is nothing short of amazing. It is beautiful and rocking guitar (often acoustic) based music (unlike many later Radiohead efforts), with ethereal and thought provoking vocals, colorful textures, and tasteful guitar leads. Thom Yorke (vocals) and Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar) really shine. It is a great, great album.

So what about this box set? Well, as with the other two recent re-releases of Radiohead's first three albums by the band's now former record company, it contains two audio CDs, one of the original album and one of ep tracks and/or B-sides and "live" tracks (here, from BBC Radio One), and one DVD containing videos and "live" tracks (here concert, studio and television footage). There are also less expensive sets just containing the two audio CDs.

About the sound quality. There has been some griping that the album has not been remastered. Keeping in mind that the album was first made for CD, and not all remastering is an improvement, it seems to me that the sound on these CDs -- although I found this more obvious on the Pablo Honey and OK Computer discs -- sounds better than I recall the original discs sounding. The 2CD/1DVD box sets are manufactured in the EU -- most likely in the UK --and seem to be excellent pressings. I do not know if the same is the case with the 2CD sets, but given the delay in the release of the box sets, I suspect that the 2CD sets are likely domestic.

As great as the first CD (containing The Bends album) is, it is remarkable how fine the second CD is. First, it contains all of the songs (other than the title track, which appears on the first CD) of the "My Iron Lung" ep, which was released in 1994, the year before the Bends was released (and following the Pablo Honey album). The second disc also contains B-sides from the singles released from The Bends album, and these include some of the band's finest B-sides, some really great tunes. Lastly, it includes four live songs from a 1994 BBC Radio One session. While Radiohead fans are likely to have many, or most, of the songs included on this second disc, it is nice to have them all together, and, for those who haven't acquired them already, at a much lower cost than purchasing all of the [import] singles. In response to the reviewer who complained that the same songs are available on-line for 99 cents each, but sorry, the sound quality here is superior to MP3 format.

The third disc is a DVD containing the videos from the album (amazing how young the band members look), concert footage from a 1994 London show (the same show featured on the Pablo Honey DVD) and live footage taken in the studio and from British television. While the video could have been better (the footage does not run consecutively for one thing) it is great to see the band rock out on the tunes, and the sound and video quality is very good. I'm certain that most of this footage can be found on-line, so it is up to the individual as to whether to pony up the extra dough for the box set. Like I said, however, the box set is an import containing some nice pressings of the audio CDs.

Lastly, about the record company cashing in, and that the band is not behind this. Yes, that may be true. But was the band behind the release of all those outrageously expensive import singles/B-sides, that should have been released, as they have been here, on a single CD? The nut of it is, the music is excellent (same of Radiohead's very best), and at the time of the writing of this review, Amazon is selling this thing at a steep discount from the release price (I'm waiting for a refund). Highly recommended. .

REMASTERED YES...............
IT SOUNDS PERFECT. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TYPE OF SYSTEM THE OTHER REVIEWRES ARE LISTENING TO BUT THIS RECORD IS REMASTERED. . . i HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING HOW BAD THE NORMAL PRESSING OF THIS RECORD FOR YEARS. pLEASE IF YOU ARE A FAN YOU MUST HAVE THIS COLLECTION JUST FOT THE REMASTERED VERSION OF IRON LUNG IF NOTHING ELSE. tHE B-SIDES SOUND GREAT . . . DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GER THE BOX SET FOR THE BEST SOUND NOT THE 2 CD SET.

Could have been so much more
Now the album itself is a genuine classic and deserves it's place among the great classics of our time. As a die hard Radiohead fan, it pains me to see a collector's edition not go the full mile. That said, where is the remastered edition (not remixed) that would have been worth it's weight in gold? I mean has anyone heard the re-release of Pearl Jam's "Ten"?! It's incredible! It would have been a true reason to release this as opposed to EMI cashing in on their white knight that has left them behind.

Also, the b-sides. . . now believe me, they are amazing (outside of maybe a couple of bad seeds). But they are also on itunes for 99 cents each! What's crazy is that the OK Computer set is more half a**ed than this one with lame postcards and a third disc of 3 or 4 music videos!

In the end, I love the band. I feel everything they put out is solid, but this is a lazy attempt at a quick buck EMI. . . and $35 at that! Twenty bucks maybe but really?!! I guess now that this is out we won't see what really could have been. I give this 3 Stars because it is Radiohead after all and I know they didn't approve this package. They are better to their fans than EMI ever cares to be. .

This is not the band, it is the record company
But, there are a TON of hard to find b-sides in all of the sets that are worth the money to a true fan of the band. This is done by record company in an attempt to make money off of a band that left them. Hence, I am choking down sending the record company any more money. .

You can see a complete list of all Radiohead discography, or go back to the Radiohead tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.